Sion's Past
by Leonhart4
Summary: A look into the past of one of the main characters of The Bouncer, Sion Barzahd. It goes from his first meeting with Wong up until he becomes a bouncer at Fate. Rated PG for some scenes of mild violence. It is now finished.
1. Little Kid in the Big Mountains

The small boy shivered in the cold, hard rain. His faded blue jeans were full of holes, which exposed scabs and cuts on his legs. His plain white shirt was ragged and dirty with long tears on each sleeve. He had innocent, light blue eyes that were filled with silent tears ready to be shed. His hair was sticking up everywhere, making it obvious that he had not had a shower in quite some time.   
He looked up from the dark pavement streets to see an old man walk by the alley he occupied. He had long hair that was white as snow, which stood up in a single, tall spike. The man had a long beard of the same shade of white. He had on a multi-colored Asian robe with the bottom just barely hovering above the streets. 

The child was very curious and lonely, so he decided to follow him. He stood up and dashed after him. The aged man hesitated for a moment, sensing something behind him. He briefly glanced behind to see the miniscule boy, chasing him with wide eyes full of wonder that only a small child possessed. He turned away coldly and continued to walk, ignoring him.   
The kid was used to this sort of rejection, and still followed closely with great interest. The old man turned a corner and the kid ran around after him. He stopped suddenly when he didn't see the man. He looked around desperately, but saw no trace of him. Disappointed, the child lowered his head and began to walk away. However, as he was leaving, he detected the sound of footsteps nearby. He turned around speedily and saw the man's shadow briefly in the distance and then it disappeared. He was determined to go wherever he went, and pursued him again.   
The old man groaned silently in disappointment once he heard the child's eager footsteps on his trail once more. He became angry with himself for being so careless and underestimating him. He knew that it was a mistake, and it should not have happened due to his extensive training. 

The elderly man continued in an attempt to escape until he reached a river. It flowed furiously and he was aware that it was impossible to swim across in that condition. He heard the boy drawing closer to him. He looked around for something to help him cross the brook. Then his eyes spotted a medium-sized tree. The strange man decided its size was adequate enough to form a bridge of sorts. Without hesitation, he struck the tree with his bare fist with blinding speed, knocking it over. The top of it barely landed on the other side, but it had worked out the way he intended; he could get across. He looked back once again to see the small child gazing at him, marveling at the feat he had just seen. With a brief sigh, he relented with sympathy for the kid and strolled over to him. "Why do you follow me?" he asked.  
"Will I ever be... as strong as you?" the child asked, still a little shocked.   
"That is up to you," the strange, old man vaguely replied, beginning to walk away again.   
"Hey, will you teach me?"   
He turned around once more to face him. "It is my policy not to take any disciples. It is late... Go home." Then he turned away again.  
As he started to leave, he heard the kid sobbing. "I... don't have a home..." he said, beginning to cry.   
The old man felt even worse for the small child now. He pondered the situation briefly before spinning back around toward him. "Come with me," he invited. 

The tears quickly vanished from the child's blue eyes and they brightened once more. He nodded excitedly and followed him. As they walked, the tiny boy asked him many curious questions.

"What's your name? I'm Sion Barzahd," the youth, full of energy said. 

"Me? My name is Wong…Wong Leung," he simply introduced.

"Where are we going?"

"You will see soon enough."

"You gonna take me to your house?"

"You'll find out in due time," the martial arts expert answered ambiguously, retaining his patience with the persistent inquiries.  
Eventually, they arrived at the foothill of a small mountain. Sion looked up partially in amazement and partially with fear. "We're goin' up there?" he asked in a frightened tone of voice.

"We'll be taking a path that does not present any danger, but I can carry you there if you'd like," Wong offered.

He willingly accepted, and the old man bent down, allowing him to hop onto his back. They followed a linear path that led to the top of the rugged mountain, but it was devoid of climbing. The only threat to their lives was the possibility of a landslide, which was insignificant. 

At the end of the trail, Sion saw a quaint log cabin. It was small and simple in design with no extravagances. "Is this where you live?" the child asked curiously.   
"No, but this is where I come whenever I wish to train, and this is where you will train your mind, body, and soul," Wong explained.   
"So when do we get to start training?" Sion impatiently asked.   
Wong smirked under his full white beard. "How about now? Hit me," he ordered.

"Huh? Hit you? You sure?" he questioned.

"One thing you must learn quickly is to never question what your master says. Anything I tell you to do, you do it without hesitation. So…hit me, Sion!"

The young boy scurried up to him and threw a punch, which was aimed at his leg due to the height difference. However, it never reached its target, as Wong moved quickly aside. He was several feet away before Sion could even blink. "Whoa! How'd you do that?!"

His master chuckled quietly at his surprise. "Perhaps you'll learn in time, but not now. Come…Let's clean you up and we can try again tomorrow."

The master woke up his pupil before the sun rose, and the youth was reluctant to get out of bed. Wong dragged him out of bed, and he lazily walked outside, rubbing his eyes as he went. "What now?" Sion asked with a yawn.

"I will teach you some basic things today," he answered.

He taught his student some simple techniques: different types of punches, kicks, and defenses. The day went by quickly as Sion thoroughly enjoyed learning about it. At sunset, they ate dinner and went to sleep.

Two years passed, and Sion had endured intense training. He still had a long way to go, but was slowly getting stronger. He was beginning to build muscle and learn impressive skills that would help him to be able to defend himself. His appearance had changed considerably. His hair was no longer dirty, but was a clean shock of light brown hair. He had been given some new clothes: a bright red hooded jacket, a pair of baggy blue jean shorts, and a white shirt. Wong was able to afford all this and more because he was a personal guard to the head of a major multi-million dollar company known as Mikado. He was a devout, loyal follower and was rewarded richly for his services. Whenever he was not present at the cabin training Sion, he was by the Mikado CEO's side. He was gone often, but the pupil became used to his frequent absence.  
As the eight year old trained, the sun was setting on the mountain. The sky was filled with brilliant colors of purple, yellow, and pink. Sion, however, had no time to pay attention to it because he was working hard. He slowed down and came to a stop for a moment. He was breathing heavily.   
"Giving up already?" Wong asked.   
"N-no..! I'm just hungry! Can't fight on an empty stomach!" he said, placing a hand on his stomach.   
"Hmph... you are persistent... I'll give you that," he said.

"Wh-what do I do next?" Sion asked, eager to continue his training, much to the dismay of his stomach.   
"Jump off this cliff," Wong said, pointing to the steep ledge about 100 feet away.   
"A-All right," he said, uneasily starting to make his way toward the edge of the cliff. His master quickly placed his hand on his shoulder to stop him from plummeting to his death.   
"Whoa whoa... I'm kidding! Come... It is time for dinner." 

Sion breathed a sigh of relief and turned away from the cliff. Wong smiled at the pupil's willingness to do anything to become the best. "Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought." He stroked his beard as he pondered quietly what was to become of this youth with unlimited potential.


	2. A Breakthrough and a New Friendship

After two more years of training in the mountains, Wong decided that it was time to head elsewhere. "You have learned all you are capable of learning here. Now we shall head out to my house in the country to train you further," he explained to his disciple.

Sion was very excited to be moving on to the next level. "All right! I can't wait! Let's get going!"

"Heh heh…Take it easy, kid. We head out tomorrow morning."

The youth woke up before the old man for a change. He was too anxious to sleep that night. Wong was surprised to see him up so early. He found him waiting outside his door with a wide grin on his face. "Time to go?"

The aged man smirked slightly and nodded. "Sure, let's get going."

Wong led Sion to his large mansion in the countryside. It was a humongous estate. The fields surrounding it stretched as far as the eye could see. The martial artist in training gazed around in absolute awe. "This place is amazing! So what are you gonna teach me now?" he asked, eager and impatient to learn more. 

"Sion.... you have done much better than I ever thought you would. I am very proud to consider you my student. Now, I want you to fight me. Show me all that you have learned," Wong said seriously.

"Are you sure, Master...?" he asked doubtfully. 

"Do as I say, Sion!" he demanded.

The pupil reluctantly charged at his white-haired master. Wong held his arms behind his back in waiting. He threw a right fist toward his stomach, but he easily stepped aside to dodge it. Sion punched with his left, then with his right in a quick motion, but Wong again dodged the boy's attempts. He swept his right leg along the ground in an attempt to trip him up, but the old man effortlessly hopped backwards out of his range. From a crouching position, he leapt forward and aimed a kick at his teacher's head, but he ducked and the youthful apprentice sailed harmlessly overhead. Sion was becoming aggravated. He threw a barrage of furious and haphazard punches at Wong. Every time, the master easily dodged his pupil's attacks.

"Ok, that's enough for now, Sion," Wong said. 

He was not fazed at all. He hadn't even broken a sweat and he looked just as he did when they started. Sion, however, was sweating profusely. He was bent over trying to catch his breath. He growled at himself in disgust. 

"Do not worry, Sion. I did not expect you to be able to make contact with me. It will come over time with more training. Just remember: never give up, train hard, and one day anything will be possible for you," Wong said encouragingly.

The next day, Sion was practicing in the fields by himself while his sensei was away at Mikado for the day when something caught his attention. He turned to see a teenage girl watching him closely at the gates of the estate with a puzzled look. Sion wiped the sweat from his forehead and ran over to where she stood. She smiled as he approached her. "What're you doing?" she asked curiously. 

"Can't you tell? I'm training!" Sion exclaimed proudly, running his hands through his drenched hair.

"Looks like a lot of fun," the girl said. 

"No one's stopping you from doing it." 

"I get sick real easy, so..." she informed him. 

Sion paused for a moment and examined her intently. She had long hair as dark as the night sky, which flowed down her back. She had dark brown eyes, which were consistently in motion, looking over him as well. "...What's your name?" he asked.

"Kaldea," she said. "...And what's your name?" 

"Me? I'm Sion," he introduced. 

"Nice to meet you, Sion," she said with a sweet smile. 

In the months that followed, Sion and Kaldea formed a great and true friendship. She often came to watch him train with Wong. She was very entertained and watched him develop slowly into a great warrior. She wanted to cheer him on, but knew she had to be silent since they needed to concentrate.

At the end of one day, Wong allowed Sion to go eat dinner with Kaldea and her parents. She led him to her house, and both of them were very thrilled at the opportunity to spend more time together. Her house was large, but not nearly as big as Wong's estate in the countryside. It was a quaint brick house with plenty of land surrounding it. She opened the door and looked around. Nobody was in sight. "Mom! Dad! I'm home!" she called out.

Her parents had been in the kitchen, preparing dinner, and came into the living room to greet her. They were pleasantly surprised to see Sion with her. 

"You must be Sion. Kaldea's told me so much about you," her mother said with a bright smile.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Sion," her father said and extended his hand, which the young boy shook.

Her mother had the same hair and eyes as Kaldea. She was wearing a full-length skirt and dressed very modestly. Her father had bright red hair and hazel eyes. He was a well-dressed man and it was obvious they were very well off.

Things went well at dinner that night. Sion was very polite toward everybody. When he was finished and had to return home, they invited him to come back another time. Wong gladly agreed to allow him to eat with them whenever he pleased, since he had also gotten to know Kaldea and knew he could trust her.

In the next four years, Sion and Kaldea's relationship became more serious. She loved to watch his seriousness in training and his caring attitude toward her and her family. He loved being with her, no matter what the circumstances. He also loved her beautiful smile and optimistic attitude. Each day they spent with each other was more pleasant than the previous. They were slowly falling in love with each other. 

One day, Sion was training with Wong and he noticed Kaldea wasn't there. He didn't let it distract or disturb him though. He fought powerfully against his master and made an impressive breakthrough. Sion jumped and kicked at his head, but he ducked. His training was going extremely well, and Wong had to actually put some effort into avoiding his attacks. Then he ducked and kicked both of his feet into the air while balancing and holding himself upright with his hands. The white-haired man lowered his head to evade the attack. Sion recovered quickly and threw a right fist while his master was still regaining his composure from the last attempt. Caught by surprise, Wong was forced to lift his hand to block his fist. They were both equally surprised. There was a brief moment of silence while they both stood still before the instructor finally spoke.

"That was outstanding, Sion. You're maturing in the ways of the warrior, and you've finally made me use one of my hands," he congratulated. He paused before continuing. "However... it'll take you a lifetime to get me to use both hands."

Sion smiled as he noticed his master smiling slyly through his beard. "I'm so excited! I've gotta go tell Kaldea!" He ran off before Wong was able to stop him. 

"That boy will never lose his energy," he muttered to himself as he shook his head.

Kaldea was awakened from a nap with a fast, continuous knock on her door. Slowly, she opened her eyes and stumbled over to the door. When she opened the door, she saw Sion smiling proudly and beaming. "Where were you today?!" he asked frantically.

"What? Did I miss something?"

"I finally made my master use one of his hands!" he exclaimed. 

"Wow! You finally did it!" she said with a bright smile. 

"Yeah, but that geezer said it'd take me a lifetime to make him use both of his hands," Sion told her. 

"You two really get along, don't you?"

"Kaldea, your parents are always kind and caring to you, too," Sion said.

"I've never been scolded my whole life. I don't know if you call that caring..." she said, pausing momentarily while she looked at the floor. "Oh! Sorry, come on in, Sion!"


	3. Love and Tragedy

He entered her house and she closed the door behind him. The young boy took a seat on the couch and she sat down beside him. "So…Tell me about it," she requested.

He began to tell the story excitedly, using expansive gestures and never staying still while he spoke. Kaldea listened intently with a smile as she listened to him ramble on about his training and his breakthrough with Wong. She was always happy to sit there and hear his stories, and he was the same way whenever she had big news to tell him.

"Wow! That's quite a story!" she said enthusiastically when he was finished. "I'm proud of you."

They ate dinner together that night and then Sion returned home to the large mansion. When he returned, Wong was waiting for him patiently, but with a stern look on his face. He stood at the steps that led to the front door with his arms behind his back. He didn't move at all, but simply remained in the same position.

"What is it, Master? Is something wrong?" Sion asked, concerned.

"There is something we should talk about," he replied.

"Yeah? What is it?" he asked curiously.

"It's about Kaldea. You spend much of your free time with her, Sion. Don't get me wrong…I have nothing against her, but I feel she may interfere with your training if you become further involved with her. Just be careful."

The student nodded his understanding, and the two of them went inside. They headed to their rooms and went to sleep for the night. Sion maintained his relationship with Kaldea, but attempted to prevent it from going any deeper than friendship. He trained harder than ever, not willing to allow anything to stop him from becoming a martial arts expert.

Two years later, Wong stirred Sion out of a deep sleep. He groggily opened his tired eyes and looked his teacher right in the face. "What is it, Master?" he asked. 

"Sion, I want you to come to a nearby forest with me. I have something very important in mind," he informed. 

Sion nodded and slowly got out of bed and got dressed. He squinted his eyes in the early sunlight as he stepped out of the manor. Wong led him to a forest a short distance away from his enormous mansion. The forest was dark and gloomy, and there wasn't much light penetrating into the area. All of the trees were grown close together and rose higher than the eye could see. It was almost the exact opposite of the bright world outside of it. The ground was soft with dew and Sion's shoes left impressions in the green grass with each step. 

As he examined the surroundings, Wong spoke to him. "Sion, I want you to fight me with all you've got. Don't hold back because I'm not going to. This isn't sparring… This is a real fight." His master assumed a battle stance.

Sion was shocked by his words and hesitant to attack. "Fight you?! Why?!" 

"How many times do I have to tell you? Don't ever disobey or question your master's orders!" Wong strictly said. 

"All right," he agreed reluctantly. 

He charged at Wong while the martial arts specialist waited for him expectantly. Sion spun speedily around his master's back and threw a quick punch to his head. Wong faltered slightly, but quickly recovered. He turned around and agilely kicked Sion in the jaw with the sole of his foot. He stumbled backwards, but shook off the pain. He threw a powerful punch toward Wong's stomach, but the master grabbed the pupil's fist. As he gripped his hand tightly, he speedily performed a roundhouse kick, but Sion was ready for it. He snatched his foot, and then swept his leg along the ground, tripping him. Wong released his grasp on his apprentice's fist and fell to the ground. 

He rolled back and got up to his feet. He furiously chopped Sion on the back of the neck, dropping him to his hands and knees. Before he could recover, the teacher kicked him ruthlessly in the ribs. Sion rolled out of Wong's reach and clutched his ribs. He coughed up a small amount of blood. It was hard for him to focus with the pain. He didn't make a move, and his master slowly closed in on him. He kicked once again at his weakness, the sore ribs, but the pupil grabbed him by the leg before it made contact. He pulled vigorously, forcing the aged man toward him. Then he performed an immense uppercut to his master's nose. He staggered backwards, and his student capitalized. Sion rushed up to him, bent down, and lifted both of his feet into the air while balancing on his hands, which was his favorite maneuver. His boots collided with his nose, bringing Wong down to his knees. Blood trickled from his busted nose, and it stained his pure white beard. 

"Very impressive, Sion. I bet you're wondering why I called you out here to confront me." 

"Yeah…I was." 

"It was so that you could complete your training. The final stage of training is a duel with one's master, and you have passed superbly. You have learned all that you need to know." Then Wong paused and looked around, as if his attention was averted by something else. 

"What is it, Master?" Sion asked, concerned. 

"Master Mikado is in danger...!" he muttered, speaking to himself.

"Huh?"

"Oh... Sion, head back home. I will meet you there later," Wong said calmly. 

Sion willingly followed orders, remembering his teacher's previous words. Wong ran off hurriedly in the other direction once his pupil was out of sight. He didn't want him to know that something was amiss at Mikado.

Meanwhile, Kaldea had come to the mansion with a joyous look on her face, expecting to see Sion. She looked around with a perplexed expression when she didn't see him out training. "Where is he...?" she mused. 

She ran up to the door and pounded on it loudly. No one came to the door. "I wonder where he could be? Maybe Wong took him out somewhere. If he doesn't come over tonight, then I'll look into it deeper," Kaldea promised herself and returned home.

Sion returned to the manor a short time later. He had a bad feeling about his master's sudden departure. He sensed that things were direly urgent at Mikado and hoped that Wong would return soon. He had little concern about his safety because he was convinced that he was too skilled to be fatally harmed. He wondered mostly about how quickly he would come back.

Once the sun had set, Sion became worried about Wong. He dashed over to Kaldea's house. He knocked on the door a few times and Kaldea opened it after a few moments. She immediately noticed the troubled expression on his face. "What is it?" she asked uneasily. 

"Master Wong... hasn't come home..." Sion mumbled. 

"What...?" 

"He said something weird a while ago... but I didn't expect him to disappear so suddenly..." he informed. 

"Have you notified the police? He could have been involved in some accident..." she said, fearing the worst. 

"No accident could kill him! Even if someone tried to murder him... that old man wouldn't die...!" Sion exclaimed. 

"Calm down. Come on in. You can stay with us tonight and we'll look for him tomorrow," Kaldea said in a comforting voice. 

The next day they headed back to Wong's mansion in hopes that he had returned during the night after Sion had departed. The teenage boy opened the door and peered inside. "Master! Master! Are you here?!" he called out, his voice echoing throughout the house, but there was no response.

They went inside and searched for him. All of the rooms were empty, and Sion's bed was still unmade from the previous morning. He could tell that no one else had been there since he left the night before. He shook his head slowly. "He's not here…"

The pair exited and decided to explore the downtown area of the City of Edge. It was not a desirable place for any teenagers to be alone. Homeless people were all over the streets, begging desperately for pocket change with rotting teeth, slurred speech, and an empty bottle of booze in their hand. Sion knew the area well since it was where he had spent his early childhood after his mother had died and before he had found Wong. He hoped that he might be wandering the streets like he had been that cold, lonely night. They found no trace of him. Giving up their search, Sion returned home with Kaldea and her parents allowed him to live with them until Wong returned.

A year later, Wong was still missing, Sion was still living with Kaldea, she had just turned 18, and began looking for a job. He remembered that his master worked for Mikado and suggested that she apply for a job there. Even though he lived with Kaldea, he still returned to the manor during the day to practice and train. One night when he came home, he saw that the entire family was very excited. "What's going on?" he asked. 

"I got a job at Mikado!" Kaldea exclaimed with a bright smile, her eyes shining. 

"Wow! That's great! Glad to hear it," Sion said happily. 

The next day, Sion decided that he would buy Kaldea a present to reward her on her newfound job. Over the years, he'd noticed her fondness of necklaces and pendants. He had saved up money from small side jobs he had worked during the year in order to pay her family for allowing him to live with them. They would never accept his money, no matter how insistent he was on it. He figured he should at least repay Kaldea, whom he deeply cared for, by purchasing a nice gift for her. 

He looked around jewelry stores all day looking for the perfect gift that would shine as brilliantly as her smile. Finally, at the last store in town, Sion found a beautiful, badge-shaped, silver pendant. "I'll take that one," he said to the clerk as he pointed to the item. 

"That'll be 400 bucks," the clerk said in a businesslike tone. 

Sion pulled out all of the money out of his pocket and laid it on the counter. "Thank you," the clerk said as he grabbed the pendant and handed it to the teenager along with a tiny box to contain it. 

He stared at the pendant with a satisfied look and placed it inside of the box. He slid it into his pocket and dashed out of the store. He couldn't wait to hand Kaldea the pendant and see the expression on her face. When he reached her house, he opened up the door and looked around for her. He didn't see her around, so he called out for her. "Kaldea, you here?" 

"I'm in here, Sion," she called back from her room. 

As Sion walked toward her room, he carefully pulled the pendant out of the box and hid it behind his back. "Is there something you want to tell me?" Kaldea asked. 

He showed her the gleaming silver pendant and held it out to her for her to accept. "Here, congratulations," he said with a smile. 

She took it from him and held it in her hand. She stared at it in amazement. "Are you sure?" 

"Of course! You got that job at Mikado, right?"

"But... Can you afford this...?" she asked, still gazing at the pendant shining in her palm. 

"Don't worry," he said coolly. 

"Thank you. I'll treasure it," Kaldea said joyfully. 

"OK, but don't go locking it away in some box. It's a pendant. You're supposed to wear it." 

She giggled at how serious he was being about her gift. She nodded and said, "I'll remember that." 

She always wore the pendant he gave her, no matter what the occasion or which necklace she was wearing. She wanted to satisfy Sion and show him she appreciated the kind gesture, so it was continually about her neck.

By the time Kaldea had worked at Mikado for six months, she was already making a good impression on her superiors. They all told her that she would be moving up the corporate ladder in no time. These compliments gave her great pleasure and gave her desire to do her job well. Sion and her parents were extremely proud of her early success and work ethic. Kaldea had already received numerous raises in pay and they were able to afford even better things for the family because of her achievements. 

"I knew you'd do well," Sion said to her one night. 

"Thanks," Kaldea said with a smile. 

She'd been happier than she had ever been before in the past six months. Not just because of her excellent job, but because of Sion. He had been very supportive of her from the beginning and encouraged her. The amount of money she made was irrelevant to Kaldea. All she wanted to do at the end of the day was come home and talk to Sion about her day, and he felt the same way. Each day after his training, he waited eagerly for her to return home from work so they could talk. She had been his inspiration to succeed in his training and martial arts since the day he met her. He didn't want to and couldn't imagine what he would have done without her. 

One day, Sion came in from his training drenched in sweat as usual. He wiped the perspiration from his forehead with a soft towel as he entered the house. He was looking forward to seeing Kaldea shortly. However, when he walked into the kitchen, he saw Kaldea's parents crying unbearably. "What's wrong?" he asked, not sure if he actually wanted to know the answer. 

Her mother was crying so relentlessly that she couldn't even speak, so her father answered him. "Kaldea was... in an accident..." he said between sobs. 

"What do you mean an accident?!" he exclaimed. 

"There was an... accident at Mikado and..." Kaldea's father paused, unable to finish. 

"And... what hospital is she in...?" Sion asked anxiously, heading toward the door so he could leave to visit her after he was informed of her location. 

Her mother cried out loudly. "She... didn't make it..." her father managed to say. 

"Huh...?" Sion said, turning toward him to face him. 

"It was a... massive explosion..." he explained. 

"You're lying..." he uttered as he opened the door. 

"S-Sion!" Kaldea's father said, moving toward him. 

"THAT'S A LIE!" He threw the towel onto the ground in anger and burst out of the house, slamming the door behind him furiously.


	4. Street Fights

Sion wandered the streets for days searching for his love. He paid a visit to the Mikado Corporation, and they claimed that they had nobody on record with the name Kaldea. He was furious with them and desperate to find her, but after a while, he realized that it was hopeless. She was gone.

Sion couldn't return to her house. He didn't want to be there if Kaldea was no longer there. He returned to living on the streets. He knew he had the skills to survive and protect himself in a rough domain. 

After a while, Sion no longer cared for anyone's well being, not even his own. He constantly thought of Kaldea. He remembered everything about her: her words, the way she looked, the way her hair smelled, her smile. He simply couldn't get her out of his mind and couldn't forget it even if he wanted to. Sion never spoke to anybody who came across him and had a constant look of sorrow on his face. He'd get into fights not even caring who the individual was. He was suffering from severe self-destructive desires now, and hoped that someone would be able to kill him. 

Sion wandered the streets each day, desiring to find the one who could defeat him and put him out of his misery. He had yet to find someone who could do the job yet and it disappointed him. One day, he was strolling down the streets carelessly, not paying attention to where he was going. _(Kaldea...)_ was all that he could think about. He unwittingly bumped into an average-sized man. He had fair hair of middle-length and green eyes. His shirt was a bright yellow with khaki pants. "Hey! Watch it!" 

_(...)_ Sion remained silent after the comments. "Who do you think you are, running into me like that without an apology!? What's with that pathetic look on your face? What, did your girlfriend dump you?" the man said rudely. 

Sion's eyes lit up with rage and he let out a loud scream. "Errr...raaaaaaah!!" 

Before the man could even blink, the martial arts expert was all over him. He pounded on his face like a punching bag. Then Sion kicked him repeatedly in the ribs until he heard a sickening crack. He snorted and said to himself, "Pathetic. Isn't there anyone who can kill me?" Then he walked away, leaving the man soaked in his own blood. 

After the incident with the innocent man who regretfully made the wrong remark, Sion decided to move to the other side of the City of Edge. The particular part of town was considered to be the ghetto. Homeless people littered the streets. Sion was just the latest addition to the large collection. There were multiple bars on each side of the street. It was truly a place any person would not want to be, except Sion. 

He was still seeking the one who could send him to his grave and reunite him with his lost love, Kaldea. He had yet to find anyone capable of handling his deadly martial arts abilities. _(Is there no one worthy of fighting me? I've never even come close to defeat. I expected to find some tougher people than this on the streets. Wait... who's that?)_

The man he was looking at was nearly seven feet tall. He was going bald, but he still had some flaming red hair. He had a solid black leather jacket and faded jeans. His blue eyes were ice cold and he was missing a few teeth. It was obvious he'd been in quite a few brawls before. Then the man saw the small figure of Sion out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey... Noticed you were looking at me. You got a problem with me or something?" the low voice boomed. 

"C'mon..." Sion said. 

"What?!" the man said, caught off guard by his remarks. 

"Why don't you go ahead and kill me..." Sion said fearlessly. 

"What are you on?!" 

"That is...if you think you got what it takes..." 

Then the red-headed man became furious with the gutsy kid. "You're asking for it, you little...!!!" 

Then he charged and swung his massive arms toward Sion. The physically smaller man lifted up his arms to block, but it didn't help much. He was knocked back against a wall. The man smiled, showing the holes off where the teeth used to be as his victim cringed in pain. Then he charged and aimed for Sion's head. He ducked just in time to see the fist fly over his head and slam into the wall. As his opponent clutched his hand from the pain, he quickly retaliated with a low foot sweep to trip up the tall man. Then Sion hopped on top of him and started throwing his deadly punches at his nose. 

Soon, the man was choking on the blood that was pouring out of his nose. Sion let up for a moment, thinking he had won, but he was overconfident. The man wrapped his gargantuan hands around his throat and lifted him up into the air as he laid on the ground. He slowly got up to his feet and tossed Sion effortlessly into the wall. He slid down to the ground, grimacing in pain. Then he swiftly kicked Sion in the stomach, knocking the breath out of him. He picked the groggy martial artist up and held him by the shoulders, preventing him from falling back down. Sion looked out of it and the man prepared to finish him off. However, before he could pull anything off, the young fighter rammed his head into the man's nose, killing him instantly. It was completely pushed back into his face and his eyeballs rolled back. Sion wiped his brow and sighed with relief. 

_(Finally, a challenge.)_ he thought as he walked off. 

As more time passed, Sion became extremely frustrated, more than ever. He was unable to find anyone who could give him a challenge after the confrontation that had left one of them dead. He almost wished that it had been him who had died that day; that he had been the one who had been covered in his own blood. Although he found it strange, he somewhat envied the man he had just brutally killed. 

_(Maybe he's reunited with some long, lost love like I wish I was.)_

Every minute he was left alive, he drew closer to the brink of insanity. _(It seems like any wish of mine won't be fulfilled now. I've lost the only thing I ever wished for, someone to love and care for. I had her, and now she's gone. Now I have another wish- to be sent to the next life and possibly rejoined with Kaldea- and I can't have it. I can't take it anymore!)_

"Someone! Anyone! Come and kill me!" Sion yelled at the top of his lungs. 

He paused for a moment and looked around, hoping someone would answer him, but all he received were awkward looks from strangers. They were freaked out by a sudden shout of a death wish. Some didn't even look at him, but quickly rushed past him to avoid a conflict with a maniac. 

"Anyone!? You can use a gun if you have to!"

Then a sheepish-looking young man cautiously approached him. He was shaking nervously, fearful of what Sion might do to him. "Uh...umm..." 

"You're going to be the one to kill me?" he asked, arching his brow. 

"I think I know a man...who could get the job done..." the man stuttered. 

"Who is he?" he asked anxiously. 

"A man who works at a bar called Fate!" the young man answered. 

"Where's that at?" Sion asked. 

"It's located on Dog Street," the man stated. 

Sion ran off at top speed without another word. _(A bouncer... Seems like he would be an adequate challenge. After all, it is his job to take care of troublemakers and the like. I guess I fall under that category.)_

After running along the dark, paved streets for about fifteen minutes, he found Dog Street. He searched carefully for the bar the man had referred to. Then he saw bright neon lights displaying the word "FATE." The lights were bright blue, with the "A" flickering on and off from time to time. He walked up the short flight of steps to the double doors made of wood. He paused momentarily and let out a heavy sigh. Then he slowly pushed open the doors and walked in. 


	5. Sion's Fate

As he strolled through the bar, Sion was surprised to see that it wasn't a dive like he had expected. It was actually fairly clean. There wasn't trash, broken glass or anything like that all over the floor. He guessed that the owner must insist on making it look as nice as possible. There were only a few lights, making everything fairly dim. 

There were even two floors to the bar. The first floor was the actual bar. It had wooden floors and the bar area where the bartender served the desperate drunks their alcohol. There were also round tables with chairs away from the bar area where people could just talk if they so desired. The second floor was basically a place to play pool. It was connected by a small set of stairs. There were four pool tables and had a jukebox that was playing mellow music. Parts of the ceiling were made of glass, enabling people to stare up at the sky and adore the nice view. 

Of course, most people came there just to get drunk. There were about twenty barstools for them to sit at, and still some people were left standing. Every so often, a disgruntled drunk would slam his glass down and mumble to the bartender to pour him another drink. Sion watched as one man vomited and then collapsed to the floor. He laid on the floor face down, drowning in his own vomit. None of the others seemed to notice or care. The drunks that had been left standing were even fighting to take over the vacated barstool. 

Sion walked over to the man and rolled him over. He looked at him disgustedly, yet with pity. He had never quite understood why people would want to do this to themselves. Then he was startled by a cold hand touching his shoulder. He turned around to see a man, barely able to keep his eyes open, looking him straight in the face. "Hey, have a drink with us," he mumbled. 

"I don't drink," Sion simply replied. 

"What? Are you too good to drink with us or somethin'? Come on, let's go!" the man angrily said. 

He broke his glass on the side of the table and pointed it at Sion as a weapon. He looked at him with an irritated glance. The drunk lunged at him with the broken bottle, but the martial arts specialist effortlessly stepped aside and grabbed the man's arm. Then with a simple motion he broke his arm. 

The drunk stumbled around and then fell to the floor, clutching his arm. He groaned in pain. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" another man said drunkenly. 

Sion turned around and punched him in the nose, easily breaking it. _(Well, if I can get them all to go against me at once, they might actually stand a chance of takin' me on.)_

He roundhouse-kicked the man behind him and knocked him over. He woozily stood up to his feet and grabbed his stool. He threw it at Sion, but he ducked and it sailed over him, smashing once it hit the floor. The bold young man then punched him in the stomach, and then shoved his knee into his face as he was bent over. 

"Hey, tough guy, you wanna go at it?" Another man yelled from a table. Sion walked over to the table and flipped it over, breaking the glasses of alcohol that rested upon them and spilling the liquid all over the floor. Then he grabbed the young man by the shirt and started punching him in the face repeatedly until he couldn't stand up any longer. 

"Ah-aaaaahhhhh!" the customer who was sitting next to him yelled when Sion turned to face him. 

"Hey, hey, you're scaring my customers. Why don't you take it someplace else?" the bartender said somewhat calmly. It was obvious that he was the owner. He was a bald, middle-aged man who was dressed in a fairly nice suit. 

"I think that's my job, Boss," a low voice rumbled from behind the young fighter. 

Sion turned around and examined the very large man with awe. He was easily over six feet tall with spiked blonde hair. His face was riddled with piercings. Both of his eyebrows had 3 studs in them. He had a few more studs on his nose and few rings on his bottom lip. However, the most unusual feature was the silver horns that protruded from his forehead. He wore a black leather jacket and blue jeans as well. 

"Those piercings make you look like a demon straight outta hell. You think you got what it takes to get me there?" Sion said with a confident grin. 

"Heh, you got a death wish, huh? I'd be more than happy to grant it," the gigantic man said as he cracked his knuckles.

Sion charged at the enormous man and punched him in his stomach. He was surprised to see that he wasn't even fazed. "Is that the best you can do?" he mocked. 

Sion growled and leapt high into the air. He then firmly kicked the bouncer in the face with both feet. The blonde-haired man staggered back a few steps. He was shocked to see such agility in a small kid. At first, he decided he was going to go easy on him, but if he wanted a fight, he would give it to him. He pulled his arm back and threw a punch with full force. Sion was able to see it coming in time to jump aside. He took advantage of the situation with a swift kick to the bouncer's knees. The man with the horns then bent over in pain. Sion delivered a quick punch to his nose, and then tried another punch, but his foe was ready this time. The bouncer grabbed the fist with his hand and clenched his tightly over Sion's. 

He grinned amusingly as he lifted the smaller man up and watched him struggle to get loose. Then he flung Sion across the room with incredible strength. He flew through the air until he crashed through a table. The occurrence caused the people who were sitting at the table to spill their drinks on themselves. They quickly got up and hurried out of the bar. 

Sion slowly got back up to his feet. Before he could even raise his head to look at his assailant, he was greeted with a rough fist to his face. He fell back down on the broken shards of wood again. The punch busted open Sion's nose. It flowed freely down his face and over his lips. The blonde-haired man raised one of his black boots and shoved it into the martial artist's stomach. Sion groaned in pain before he started gasping for breath. 

Then the man menacingly reached down and grabbed him by his light brown hair. He lifted him up until they were face to face. "Had enough yet?" he asked with a smirk. 

"It won't be enough until I'm dead!" Sion shouted back. 

Then he kicked the gargantuan man's upper leg with full force. The bouncer grimaced slightly in pain. Then Sion repeatedly kicked him in the same spot until his grip loosened, and he got free. Then he grabbed a chair and proceeded to break it over the massive man's back. The attack finally dropped the bouncer down to one knee. Then Sion lifted his knee and it came in contact with the tall man's already injured nose. The man's head snapped back and the blood started pouring profusely out of his nose. 

Then he brought his head back down furiously. His ferocious eyes met with Sion's determined eyes. The blood had now dried on the young man's face. He stood back up and towered over Sion once more. He charged at the bouncer and started to jump in the air. But before he could attempt anything, the blonde-haired man powerfully kicked him in the stomach. He was sent backwards until he landed roughly on the wooden floor. The bouncer picked him up and threw him against the wall. Then he began to throw relentless punches all over his body. Sion was rocked with pain, but was unable to do anything to prevent it. 

When the man with the silver horns had finished, Sion fell limply to the floor. His eyes were closed and his body didn't move. The bouncer wiped the blood off of his face. "You put up quite a fight for a little kid," he credited. 

As he turned around to walk away, he heard the sound of his defeated opponent coughing. He was shocked to see Sion already back on one knee, spitting up blood. "I'm...not dead...yet..." he said, breathing heavily. 

"Not bad...for a little kid..." the bouncer said. 

Then the boss of the bar walked over to Sion. "What do you think about working for me, boy?" he asked. 

"What...?" he asked confusedly. 

"He works for me as a bouncer. It's your choice. No one's going to stop you from leaving if you want to..." the boss said. 

"All right, I'll do it..." Sion accepted. "But only until I can beat him...!"


End file.
